


Eternal Motion

by thisbluespirit



Category: Sapphire and Steel
Genre: 1950s, Blood, Early Motion Projectors, Elemental Weirdness, Ficlet, Gen, Genremixer, Historium Bingo, community: historium
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 21:24:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19732045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisbluespirit/pseuds/thisbluespirit
Summary: The assignment may be over, but some things still aren't right.





	Eternal Motion

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Genremixer prompt #106 – Bronze/Copper – hiding an injury & movie/video; also for the Historium Bingo square "Regret."

Bronze held up the disc to the light, examining the images of a figure painted on the glass, forever still and yet forever in motion. A zoopraxiscope disc. A captured moment from sixty-six years, seven months and fourteen days ago, and one human figure who had been here only minutes before. A shadow crossed her face. “I couldn’t get her out.” 

She replaced the disc in the projector and followed the progress of the tiny dancer one last time as Copper and the human, the museum’s curator, headed across to join her. As they reached her, Bronze removed the disc out and, after hesitating with it in her hands, holding her breath for a second or two, she shattered it, letting the glass fragments fall out of her hold onto the floorboards.

“That’s irreplaceable,” said the museum curator, visibly trembling with outrage at the wanton destruction of a prized part of the collection. “How dare you? I shall telephone for the police!”

Copper looked across at Bronze and then placed a hand on the man’s shoulder; a calming act. “Yes, do that,” he said without the slightest lift of alarm in his voice. “We’ll be happy to see them. As we told you, we have very good reason, and we’ll explain to your policemen if you wish.”

As the man hurried away to the office where the only telephone was located, Bronze raised an eyebrow at Copper.

“There’s no reason for us to wait, is there?” he said. “Not now. So let him call for whoever he likes.” He paused, watching her, while also listening out for the tell tale use of the wires. “I can cut him off if you need more time.” He held up a hand, alerted to something he could sense that she couldn’t. “He’s only just picked up the telephone.”

Bronze knelt on the floor beside the shards of the disc, her hand closing around one of them.

“Better safe than sorry,” Copper offered, frowning, obviously aware of something wrong in his current partner; some unexpected connection or regret. She could equally sense his vague discomfort. “It had to be done.”

Bronze nodded and gave a quick, quirk of a smile, before looking back down at herself. She opened up her hand, a line of blood running across her palm from where the disc had cut into her. “I couldn’t get her out. Maybe if I keep this, maybe I’ll work something out. In time.”

“Too late,” said Copper, moving nearer. “I’m sorry.”

Bronze sighed and let the piece fall out of her hand, let it and the other fragments return to sand. “Well, at least now she’s not trapped.”

“Do you remember, then?” he asked, tilting his head, looking down at her as she pulled herself up again. “You. Trapped in the miniature for so many years. How it felt?”

Bronze stretched her hand and the cut faded away. “No. There was nothing. I felt nothing. Forever. Am I still there _and_ here? Did I truly escape? Sometimes it’s hard to be sure.”

Copper shook his head and stretched out his hand to her. She took it, and his closed his fingers around hers.

“It’s gone,” she said, and gave another small smile. “All of it.”

 _For now_ , he said. It was all about time. Now was not then, especially not for them. What was gone, was gone, and so it must be, but some things cast long shadows.

Bronze leant her weight against Copper briefly, stealing comfort. Then she straightened herself and moved away, becoming brisk again – sharp, gleaming bronze, ready for any task. “A shame we couldn’t save her, though. It always feels so unsatisfactory.”

 _A shame_ , echoed Copper. _Yes._

“Next time,” she said, with a lift of her chin, “I’ll do better.”


End file.
